Footfall on first day museum reopening encouraging: Official

Kolkata: The turnout of visitors on the very first day of reopening of the four museums in the city under new normal strictly adhering to

COVID -19 protocols was not at all disappointing, according to the respective

authorities.

Victoria Memorial Hall, Science City, Indian Museum and Birla Industrial and Technological Museum under the Ministry of Culture opened its gates for common people after a gap of nearly eight months on Tuesday. They have been closed since March 15.

"We have planned to regulate entry under the new normal and created two slots – the first one from 10 am to 2 pm and the second one from 2 pm to 6 pm. In each slot we have decided not to allow more than 500 visitors. This will ensure not more than 15 visitors assemble at a particular gallery or place inside the Science City. Over 270 visitors turned up today (Tuesday). Everybody had to undergo temperature check through thermal gun and wearing masks were mandatory," said Subhabrata Chaudhuri, Director of Science City.

The exhibits have been modified in a manner so that visitors require minimum touching to operate them. In a handful where t they require to touch there are facilities of disposable gloves. Foot operated sanitising facilities are available not only in the entry gate but at strategic locations.

The Victoria Memorial Hall had a footfall of 524 visitors while the garden inside VMH alone had 416 people.

Indian Museum registered a footfall of 109 visitors while BITM had 17 visitors.

"The majority of our visitors are usually school children and under normal situation one or more schools come with their students to visit BITM everyday. But all educational institutions are closed. So, we are not all disappointed with the turnout," said a senior BITM official.

All the museums have ticket facilities at the entry points but they are encouraging people to purchase tickets online to avoid physical touch.